How do you transfer a property title to heirs?

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Property titles can be transferred to heirs through a revocable or an irrevocable trust, notes Steve Lander for SFGate. Putting the title in an irrevocable trust protects the property against estate tax and creditors, and a third-party trustee can take legal control of the title for the beneficiaries.

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Once the trust is set up and the trust maker designates himself as the trustee, he can sign over the deeds of the property as a gift to his trust, according to Lander. A property title is easiest to transfer when the property is a main residence, has a regular mortgage and has no more than five units in it.

To take full advantage of a trust, it is best for the trust maker to assign a successor to take over the trust once he dies, notes Lander. As long as the trust maker is still alive, he can renovate, remodel, rent out, refinance or sell the property.

After the trust maker dies, the trust changes hands to the successor trustee who carries out the original trust maker's wishes for the property, explains Lander. One major benefit of adding the property title to the trust is that it does not have to go through probate, which can be an expensive and time-consuming ordeal.